F.C. Homeless Shelter Auction Benefit is Saturday
Lucrative, vacation auction items are among the over 100 items that supporters of the Falls Church Winter Emergency Homeless Shelter will be able to bid on this Saturday night at the annual benefit to raise money for the shelter. Vacation opportunities in Captiva Island, Florida, the Outer Banks and Bethany Beach are included.
The shelter provides four months of winter overnight shelter, counseling and meals to 12 homeless persons nightly, operating from Dec. 1 through March 31 each year. This year, the shelter has been full every night. Ages range from early 20s to late 70s. Among other volunteers, some generous local businesses and the senior class at George Mason High School make dinner once a week for the residents. At the benefit Saturday, food has been donated by Entrée Vous, Blanca’s Ledo Pizza, Pie Tanza, Red Hot and Blue, Natalia’s, the Bread House and Kendall Cakes. Live music will feature a Mason High quartet and Andrew Acosta. Mason’s Tim Guy and Michael Thornton of the Capital Steps will MC. The event is from 7-11 p.m. Saturday at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association space at 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (across from the Ballston Mall). There is free parking. Tickets are $35 at the door, or by can be purchased by emailing jkane65@yahoo.com.
F.C.’s 1st Lt. Joab (“Joey”) Cohe Recovering at Walter Reed
2002 graduate of Falls Church’s George Mason High School, 1st Lt. Joab (“Joey”) Cohe is expected to fully recover at the Walter Reed Hospital from bullet wounds to both his legs suffered while on combat patrol in Iraq last month. An all-state athlete at Mason, he captained the schools’ football, wrestling and track teams. At West Point, where he graduated in 2006, he starred on the wrestling team all four years. Since being commissioned in the U.S. Army, he’s gone through Ranger and Airborne training in the First Cavalry Division in Iraq, where he was second in command. With rehabilitation, he is expected to be fully recovered within six months.
F.C. Resident Named to Obama Faith Council
Melissa Rogers, a Falls Church city resident and director of the Wake Forest School of Divinity Center for Religion and Public Affairs, was one of 25 clergy and laity named last week to one-year terms on President Obama’s new Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She is a member of Columbia Baptist Church and married to Stan Fendley.
F.C.’s Argia’s Included in D.C. ‘Restaurant Week’
Falls Church’s Argia’s Restaurant, 124 N. Washington St., is the City’s only restaurant participating in the annual Washington D.C. Restaurant Week Feb. 16-22. More than 200 restaurants are involved, all offering three-course, prix-fixe meals. Argia’s is doing both lunch for $20.09 and dinner for $35.09, excluding beverages, tax and gratuity. Three McLean restaurants, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse (dinner only), JR’s Stockyard Inn and Le Mistral, are also included.
Penny Gross Named Fairfax Board’s Vice Chair
With the election of Vice Chair Sharon Bulova as the new Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last week, board members voted unanimously Monday to name Mason District Supervisor Penelope “Penny” Gross the new vice chair. Gross is a 13-year veteran of the board, and has been authoring a weekly column in the News-Press for more than a decade.
Author Esther De Waal to Speak to F.C. Churches
Esther De Waal, noted author, historian and Celtic and Benedictine scholar, will speak to the combined congregations of the Falls Church (Continuing) Episcopalians and the Falls Church Presbyterian Church Monday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at 225 W. Broad St. She is the author of six books, including Seeking God, The Way of St. Benedict, Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition, and A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton and others.
